Saying “no”
What comes to mind when you read these words:
Salesman
Salesperson
SellingI have deliberately left a space so you can write down your thoughts in the space below, or at least pause and think about your response.
Go ahead make a note of the things that come to mind:
Salesman Salesperson Selling
Chances are you came up with a mostly negative list. Here are some typical responses:
• Used cars
• Life Insurance
• Pushy
• Rip-off
• Sleazy
• Greedy
• Boring
• Cold-calling
• Stressful
• Dishonest
• UnethicalIsn’t it interesting? Almost everyone is programmed to believe that sales and selling are negative concepts. Let me show you that your programming is not reality and in fact deep down you believe the opposite.
Remember when you were first dating? You wore your best clothes, shined your shoes, spent hours checking your hair in the mirror, cleaned the car etc? Guess what? You were “selling yourself” to your date.
Remember when you went for your first serious job interview? You did all the same things as above but in addition maybe you learned about the company and its products. And how much time did you spend on your resume? You were selling yourself to your prospective employer.
Remember your first important school assignment? You made it neat, you proof read it, you stapled it perfectly. You were selling your skills and abilities to your teacher.
Remember going to the bank for your first loan…?
Remember meeting your spouse’s parents for the first time…?
Remember your first client phone call…?
Remember your first client meeting…?The fact is, you and I are selling ourselves to others in every professional and social situation we engage in! I would go as far as to say the level of satisfaction you have in the following is a direct reflection of how good you are at selling yourself to others:
• Your annual income.
• The quality of your peers.
• The quality of your friends and the number of friends you have.
• Your community status.
• Your love life.
• Your career.
• The parties you are invited (or not invited) to.
• The way your friends treat you.
• The way your family treats you.
• The way strangers treat you.We have to rid our minds of any negative associations we have to selling, and we need to embrace it! You already have a long history of selling, so keep doing it and keep getting better at it.
I have a number of rules I live by:
• Nothing leaves my office unless it is absolutely as good as it can be. That includes letters, emails, documents, phone calls – everything.
• When I meet with a client or have business meetings I am always immaculately presented in the appropriate dress code.
• I am never late to meetings.
• I always reply to emails, phone messages and letters promptly and in a professional and courteous manner.
• I am always polite in all forms of communication. It is not unusual for me to send a two paragraph email with five “please” and “thank yous” – it doesn’t cost anything and it makes people feel appreciated.
• I often give gifts to people I am meeting with, especially if they have given up their time to meet with me.There are a hundred ways to effectively sell yourself to all of the people you meet or see.
Remember, if you are dissatisfied with any area of your interpersonal life it is probably because you are not selling the most important product you can ever sell – YOU!
By the way the title of this chapter is Sell Yourself! I couldn’t put that at the beginning of the chapter because I needed to surprise you with your reaction to the words Salesman, Salesperson and Selling!
Now that I have outlined how important it is to sell yourself, here are some quick tips for selling in business:
Tip #1 In business Sales = Income.
Tip #2 Before you buy a product in business, know how you will sell it.
Tip #3 If you contact just five people a day to sell them your product or service you will be incredibly successful.
Tip #4 Every successful business is good at selling. If selling is not your strength get personal coaching.
Tip #5 If you are part of an organization, everyone in the organization has to “sell” i.e. everyone must be a good advertisement for the business.
Tip #6 Successful selling requires energy. In a selling encounter the person with the most energy always wins the sale. If you have kids you already know this is true!